5G Wireless and its High Fiber Diet

Getting a dramatic boost to internet surfing speeds is enough of a draw to get everyone waiting for 5G with bated breath. Being away from direct internet connections and Wi-Fi will no longer dictate how people use the internet, but many people don’t realize this functionality comes with a caveat that’s still tethered to the wall.

In order to get speeds that blow past everything that came before, wireless businesses need a way to get a great amount of data from the internet to 5G antennas as quickly as possible. Enter fiber optic cable, the pavement that coats World Wide Web highways across the globe.

The Power of 5G

Faster internet doesn’t just mean lower loading times or directions that update in milliseconds. By increasing bandwidth, providers allow access to a host of functionality that would otherwise clog communications networks. Future technologies demand faster, free-flowing data to operate, and it’s up to fiber optics to get them there.

Driverless cars seem like a pipe dream today, even though many have found their way onto streets throughout the country. Part of what holds them back is the need to constantly interact with tracking and navigational equipment via wireless communications. Transmissions using 5G technology opens the floodgates, allowing a lot more information to hit the airways without other devices suffering a loss of functionality.

A Look Inside

The reason why fiber optic cables can transmit information at such high speeds is that they use light to convey data. Most of these lines are constructed of five main parts:

• Core: Made of a single strand of purified plastic or glass, this is the main medium that sends and receives data in the form of light pulses. The bigger the core, the more data can be transferred.
  
• Cladding: A barrier that allows data to be transmitted by containing light waves.
• Coating: The structural sheath that helps the cable retain its shape and prevents damage.
  
• Strengthening fibers: Lines that keep the cable from being crushed or otherwise damaged during installation.
• Cable jacket: The outer sheath that protects cables from undersea and land hazards, construction, and even environmental damage due to weather and animals.

These parts work in tandem to transmit light over fine glass filaments, sending and receiving information with flashes that are so fast the human eye can’t see them. It’s this overall speed that helps determine the reliability of any 5G network, and getting quality cable and experienced installation will help ensure a dependable wireless experience.

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Getting data to transmit over the airways is only part of the issue. All of that data needs to make its way from landlocked equipment to transmission antennas, and the fastest way is through fiber optic cables.

New 5G systems will utilize higher radio frequencies to send and receive data with almost no latency. However, there is a tradeoff: higher frequency waves travel much shorter distances. To compensate, businesses need more short-range antennas directly connected to the web. 

When it comes to faster internet, 5G revolutionizes current devices and paves the way for a future filled with wireless integration. But no network is completely wireless, and the true heros are the fiber optic cables that string together a faster and more stable World Wide Web.

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Check out our last post: The History of Fiber Optics